Men's Basketball

SCIAC Alumni Edges Seniors in Sixth-Annual Showcase

May 01, 2018

PASADENA (Apr. 23, 2017) – The sixth-annual SoCal College Senior Showcase returned on Sunday and for a second year in a row pitted the SCIAC's top senior players against an all-star team comprised of SCIAC alumni. Former Caltech assistant coach Steve Hodge returned to Braun Gymnasium to coach the alumni and current Whittier College head coach Mark Jensen coached the seniors.

The Alumni once again came out on top and once again did so by the smallest of margins, 89-87, though this year's game featured a little more defense from both teams. Former Caltech center Nasser Al-Rayes '17, who currently plays the game professionally overseas in his native country of Qatar, had the standout game for the Alumni, leading the way with 28 points on 13-of-18 shooting and coming just one rebound shy of a double-double. Other Caltech alumni in the game included Rob Anderson '16 and Andrew Hogue '15. The seniors' biggest contribution came from two-time defending SCIAC Player of the Year Michael Scarlett of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, who led with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Kendrick Morris, one of two teammates of Scarlett's on the Seniors team, came off the bench to provide the game's only double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds). Caltech's lone senior this year, David Kawashima (Studio City, Calif. / North Hollywood) started for the Seniors and had five points in 18 minutes.

The game came down to the last possession following a defensive tug-of-war first half by all-star game standards. Trailing by six points, the Seniors turned to Scarlett to knock down two consecutive three-pointers to knot things at 87. The former Beaver Al-Rayes took matters into his own hands on the ensuing possession, knocking down the decisive jump shot to make it two-in-a-row for the Alumni. Al-Rayes showcased his continued development overseas when he jammed home an alley-oop from former California Lutheran University guard Adrian Francis with just over three minutes to go in regulation. Aside from Al-Rayes, former University of La Verne guard and two-time First Team All-SCIAC Hakim Arnold had perhaps the most efficient game of the participating players. Arnold played 20 minutes off the bench and still came up with 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Five players on each team reached double-figures.

The SoCal Senior Showcase traditionally was an annual senior all-star game for men's players from Division II and Division III institutions in California. Caltech Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger and his staff implemented the event in 2013 as a way to highlight the careers of outstanding basketball players from the SCIAC, the CCAA, the Pacific West, and other non-Division I colleges in California.